Duck Shots

A weekly update on the Mighty Ducks.

Coach Ron Wilson doesn’t like it when the Ducks are called a one-line team, but the line of Paul Kariya, Steve Rucchin and Teemu Selanne has lived up to the billing. That’s good enough to beat New Jersey. But not Phoenix.

* Where they stand: 18-23-5 (41 points), fourth in the Pacific Division, ninth in the Western Conference.

* Who’s hot: Against New Jersey, Guy Hebert gets his fourth victory in five games. Against the Eastern Conference, he was worthy of All-Star recognition.

* Who’s not: Kevin Todd still can’t find the net and the Devils’ Mike Dunham did him no favors.

UPCOMING

* Saturday, at Kings (5 p.m., KCAL-TV Channel 9): New Jersey and San Jose are enough to make you forget whatever streak the Kings had going before the All-Star break. Aki Berg fanning on the puck and allowing San Jose’s Bernie Nicholls to skate in and set up Jeff Friesen for a short-handed goal is a vivid example of mistakes ganging up to strangle the Kings.

* Monday, at St. Louis (5:30 p.m., Fox Sports West): Mike Keenan is gone but the Blues still are looking to get better. “We’re still terrible while playing with the lead,” Brett Hull told the Associated Press after a 6-4 victory over the New York Islanders. “We have to improve our defensive play.”

* Wednesday, at Dallas (5:30 p.m., no TV): Pat Verbeek doesn’t get all the credit for the Stars’ rise, but his efforts don’t hurt them, either. They hurt him. In Philadelphia last Tuesday, a Flyer clearing pass went as far as Verbeek’s face. Joe Nieuwendyk collected that rebound and got the puck to Benoit Hogue, who scored his first goal in more than a month.